Technology vs Management in the Workplace

Technology and management are used individually or together in the business environment to accomplish objectives. When engaging in this collaborative process, you must be intentional about how and when they are used. Often in my past I've seen technology used as a simple fix to solve a problem caused by employees, customer, or vendors... for example:

Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, can allow employees to pass a few minutes or hours at work checking the latest happenings. Social media is the ultimate killer of all work efficiency; at the very least, it sometimes results in impolitely ignoring the person in front of you. While blocking these sites in your organization may be a good thing for repeat offenders, I think we are missing a couple important points.

The why

The consequence

Without these we are merely creating a challenging game for the employee to find a way to get access to what they want through a phone, proxy, or hot spot. If we don't take the time to explain the reasoning behind our actions and their importance, then we can leave people feeling like they are against the company instead of part of the team. Lastly, if there aren't consequences to breaking rules then the employees will put their foot over the line as far as you will allow.

Technology can be a great tool, but don't use it as a crutch to get away from being relational and managing properly. Also, if you're talking to someone, put your phone back in your pocket and talk to them!